AuthorTopic: Recommend me a classic this summer (Read 7258 times)

I was hoping to learn Spanish this summer with Rosetta Stone, but since we don't have several hundred dollars to spend on my spanish lessons, I guess I will have to find another project for myself this summer. In an effort to become a well read person, I have decided to read classics this summer. So that's where you guys come in.

Ok, here it goes: Recommend to me a classic book to read this summer. Don't just post a list of books, really think about it. And only recommend a maximum of 3 books. I don't want to be overwhelmed, so that's why I'm attempting to limit the recommendations per person. Also, please give me a brief reason why you are recommending the book. Tell me why I should read it.

Here is a brief list of "classics" that I have already read: (you might recognize these from a BBC list meme)Harry Potter by JK RowlingTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeThe BibleNineteen Eighty Four by George OrwellGreat Expectations by Charles DickensTess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy The Great Gatsby by F Scott FitzgeraldGrapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckThe Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS LewisAnimal Farm by George Orwell The Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownAnne of Green Gables by LM MontgomeryLord of the Flies by William GoldingA Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensBrave New World by Aldous Huxley Of Mice and Men by John SteinbeckCharlotte’s Web by EB White

I'm going to recommend a classic - but it's a classic from a certain viewpoint.

Jim Bouton - Ball Four

I recommend this b/c it's the funniest book I've ever read, it's about baseball, and it's the only book I've read more than 3 times. It is on the surface about baseball, but when you really look at it it's about humanity. Hopes and dreams. Times of change. Growth. Understanding. Love and hate. And many other wondrously qualities of life that we all go through.

"Classic" is definable in many ways, and some might argue it's not a classic, but it changed the world when it came out and that's a pretty good way to start the conversation. Much of what it speaks about that was controversial then is no longer controversial (i.e. Mickey Mantle was a huge drunk... we all know that now, but in 1970 this was blasphemy), but much of it amazingly still relevant.

This wouldn't be in any BBC list of classics, but then again I don't see why anything by Dan Brown should be included, either.

rva

Pragmatic reasons to read: It's short and it's pretty easy read; not a whole lot of big word descriptions of stuff and a fairly straightforward if modest plot.

"Literary" reasons to read it: Because it's everything the over-hyped and more widely read "Confederacy of Dunces" isn't. Namely, a book that really captures New Orleans through the eyes of a loner/loser. As opposed to an endless series of fat guy jokes.

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Book: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Pragmatic reasons to read: Do you want a book with a real thrilling plot and good pacing? A book with real men doing real men things? Or would you rather wade through a sprawling novel of passive aggressive class warfare about English men in boarding schools who carry teddy bears and may or may not be gay but are certainly wussy as crap?

"Literary" reason to read: It's basically the creme de la creme of mystery-noir. You read this one, then you pretty much understand the whole genre that spawned all the Bogey films and hard-boiled detectives and LA Confidential and whatnot. They're all riffs off this one, and the bonus is that Big Sleep isn't gross with a lot of blood and sex like it's followers. It's like being able to listen to one jazz record or one blues record and then not having to ever listen to any others because you get it and either you like the style or you don't.

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Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Pragmatic reason to read it: White liberal guilt. Now you don't have to feel like a culturally insensitive ass because you've read a seminal work of and African-American woman!

"Literary" reason to read it: Quite frankly, I think this book sucks ass. It's a book about a stupid person surrounded by stupid people making stupid decisions living in a stupid time. But you know-- the stupid decisions were made out of love. And the protagonist endures. So if you like that kinda thing, this is the book for you. It's a lot shorter than Gone with The Wind, that's for damn sure.

Easy books on the list to pick off:

Crying of Lot 49-- It's really short. It's also kind of stupid and boring, but you could probably easily finish it in one night.

Watchmen-- Graphic novel, so not a whole lot of text to wade through. Another one that can be finished in one night. I love it, but it's kind of a comic geek/guy/existentialist thing so it's gonna leave a lot of people cold.

Deliverance-- It's pretty much like Stephen King where you can blow right through it. Except only 1/2 as long as a King book. Honestly, I have no idea what's so good about this book. James Dickey's poetry, yeah. That's some amazing stuff. This is just kind of standard horror fare.

The Catcher in the Rye-- Another short one. Like a lot of young men, I thought this book was the nuts when I read it. And I still kinda like it, but it's very much a book for gloomy young male teenagers. I don't know that I'd dig it so much if I read it today, and I kinda doubt I'd like at all if I were an adult female.

On the Road-- I hated this book. I thought Dean Moriarty was kind of an annoying dick, and it's like so obvious that Jack Kerouac really, really, wishes he were Moriarity and that sort of fawning crush bleeds through the whole book. What does it say about a guy when he spends his real life trying to live like a fake character in his own book, and only ends up being a pale imitation? Kerouac did at least get the "annoying dick" part right. Nonetheless, it's a pretty easy read.

A Clockwork Orange-- Another very short book, but you can pick off two birds with one stone by familiarizing yourself with a classic book AND a classic movie at the same time if you just watch the Kubrick film.

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper FfordeI re-read this book for at least the fourth time this weekend. It's a fairly new novel, but it is excellent. Lots of puns, interesting story. It is fantasy- based, but since you have HP on your read list, I think you'll appreciate it. The main character is Thursday Next, and she is a Litera-Tec: a book detective. Essentially, someone has stolen Jane Eyre, and Thursday has to get her (and thus the book) back.I like the puns and how the story is so well woven that elements from the beginning of the story are crucial to the end of it. And did I mention I liked the puns?

Sand County Almanac, by Aldo LeopoldNon-fiction, and was written in the '50s. It's a great description of life in Wisconsin. (I think it's Wisc., I haven't read it in awhile) A natural history book that traces the year and what happens ecologically in Sand County. Sadly, Leopold was killed in a prairie fire soon after writing this book. The pace is smooth and relaxing, and the descriptions of the plants and animals are quite lyrical. It's a short read, maybe 150 pages.

I'll have to think of a third.OK, these aren't classics in the truest sense, but they are good!

On the Road-- ...Kerouac did at least get the "annoying dick" part right. Nonetheless, it's a pretty easy read.

So true, so true. I hated that book, too!

Suggestion 1: Graham Greene. There are a few common threads to all his books. Offhand I would say he writes about human shortcomings and vulnerabilities. I think Monsignor Quixote is a great starter even though it was one of the last books he authored. It parallels Don Quixote (which is another good classic) which even if you haven't read Cervantes' book it would still make sense. We've all heard about chasing after windmills and such.

Suggestion 2: Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo - it's a classic I can read over and over again filled with adventure and intrigue.

I had a long post typed out when suddenly my PC died on me again. One of the three reads I had thought to suggest from those lost ramblings is this one:

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

It's very short and extremely moving. One of the greatest (and bravest) novels ever written. It's set in a Soviet Gulag at the time of Stalin and is about, well, a day in the life of one of the men incarcerated there. I've read this book about once every 18 months or so since I was 14.

Of all the college courses I’ve taken, the very best was African Literature. Every book we read was fantastic, but God’s Bits of Wood was my favorite of the bunch. In this novel (his third), Ousmane writes about western African railway workers who go on strike after WWII. (“Gods Bits of Wood” are what the African women call their newborn babies.)

The women in the story are strong---they keep everything together (the families, etc.) in the face of tremendous hardship and political unrest. They’re the lifeblood of the story, and one of the main reasons to read it.

Ousmane’s writing is lyrical. He strikes a wonderful balance between setting political context and creating rich, vivid characters that retain such dignity in the face of cruelty at the hands of the French colonials. Really powerful stuff.

I didn’t have enough money to buy textbooks my last semester of college; I either borrowed books from classmates, got them from the library, or relied on lecture notes. (I learned to take impeccable lecture notes.) As soon as I had a real job after graduation, one of the first things I did was buy this book. That’s how good it is. (IMHO )

Butter and I were talking last night about the books we had to read in high school. It was so weird that we pretty much read none of the same books. Well, there is one book I read in 9th or 10th grade that I cannot remember the title of. Let's see if any of you can help me.

It was by an American author (cannot remember the name). It was about an all boys high school (boarding school) or college. And it dealt with one of the World Wars. That's all I got.

I got a lot of historical perspective on war, civilization, and migration patterns from Guns, Germs And Steel by Jared Diamond.Kinda explains why Europe wound up the center of power over the centuries (millennia, really) and why class struggle is a kinda built-in defense mechanism for humans. I really think it should be standard reading for anyone who wants to understand why peoples of the world some times have trouble getting along. It describes how weapons, industry, crop cultivation, weather patterns, and diseases shaped the settlement of the planet.